British papa scams wey dey give migrant pikin and mama citizenship
BBC Newsnight
56 minutes wey don pass
British men dey collect thousands of pounds from migrant women to form say dem be di papa of dia pikin, one BBC investigate don reveal.
Di migrant women dey pay di British men up to 10,000 (N5,759,440) to add dia names for birth certificate, wey go help di child get UK citizenship and give di mama road to residency.
Scammers dey use Facebook sell di business and dem claim say dem don help thousands of women.
Although, Facebook don tok say dat kain content dey banned under dia rules.
Wetin BBC find out
Di investigation wey BBC Newsnight run, find out say di fraud dey happun for different communities around di UK.
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E expose agents wey dey operate across UK wey dey find British men wey go act as fake papa.
One researcher go undercover and pretend to be pregnant woman wey enta UK illegally and e follow pipo wey dey offer dis kain services tok.
One agent wey dem dey call Thai tell her say im get plenti British men wey fit act as fake papa and say di "full package" go cost 11,000.
Wetin we call dis foto,
"Thai" na di pesin wey wan run tins as agent for Newsnight undercover researcher
E say di process dey "very easy" and im "go do everytin" to get di pikin UK passport.
Thai wey no dey advertise for Facebook say im go arrange ogbonge tori wey authorities go believe.
E carry di undercover researcher introduce give one British man wey dem dey call Andrew, wey tok say e go act as di papa. Andrew go collect 8,000 from di complete money.
For dia meeting, Andrew show im own passport to show say e be UK international. E also snap selfies wit di researcher.
Wetin we call dis foto,
Newsnight researcher (face blurred) with Andrew
Di BBC no give shi-shi to any of di agents wey dey run di fake father service.
Wen dem later ask Thai about wetin im dey do for di business, e say im no do anything wrong, e say im "no know anytin about am".
Andrew sef neva ansa our request for comment.
Anoda agent wey call herself Thi Kim claim say she don help thousands of migrant women.
She say she fit provide British man, and e go cost "ten thousand for di papa" and her money inside na 300.
Thi Kim tell di researcher say, "all di men I dey use, na here dem born dem, and dem neva register for any pikin before. I sabi handle everi. You no need stress say you no get passport. E go dey granted".
Thi Kim no ansa BBC request for comment.
Wetin we call dis foto,
Thi Kim, na agent wey gree set up arrangement with British man
Immigration lawyer, Ana Gonzlez tok say dis fake papa scam dey "very elaborate".
"E dey very sophisticated and very hard to police," na wetin she tok. "For one tin, e show how desperate dis women be and di ogbonge lengths dem fit go to make sure say dem get right to stay for UK".
If migrant woman dey di UK illegally and give birth to pikin wey get British papa or man wey get indefinite leave to stay, di pikin don immediately turn British for birth.
Di mama go come apply for family visa, wey go give am di right to remain for Uk and fit even allow am apply for citizenship later.
"Dis rule na to protect pikin dem, no be to give visas to mama dem wey no get papers for di Uk," Ms Gonzlez hala. "No be loophole, no dey look a like that."
Di BBC no fit estimate how big di scam don reach as Home Office no fit provide di informate on di number of cases dem don investigate.
Dem also no dey publish di data of di amount of visas dem don give non UK parents wey born British pikin.
'No be one-off'
But last year, UK grant 4,860 family visas to "oda dependants". Dis na category wey include pipo wey dey apply to stay for UK as parents of British pikins.
To lie for birth certificate on purpose na crime,
Di Home Office tell BBC say dem get ways to prevent and find out dis kain immigration fraud wey use fake birth certificate.
Dem say "birth certificate fit no reach to prove paternity" and wia dem need prove am "sem fit ask for additional evidence to complete di checks satisfactorily".
But immigration lawyer, Harjap Bhangan no gree say dem dey use enough action, "no be one off, e fit be thousands... Di Home Office no just know about am".
E say dis kain tin dey hapun for plenti immigrant communities like di ones from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Sri Lanka, and e don dey happun for years.
Newsnight investigation find out say di illegal practices dey advertised well-well for some Vietnamese Facebook group for pipo wey dey find work.
10th January 2023
Women dey gingered to enta DM
We find plenti posts from accounts wey boast about dia credentials as beta fake papas dem as well as women wey dey find British men to form as papa.
One account post say, "I dey 4 months pregnant. I need citizenship daddy wey dey between di age of 25 -45".
Anoda one say, "I be papa wey get red book (wetin Vietnamese dey call UK passport). I f you get bell and no get papa, DM me".
Meta, di company wey get Facebook, say dem no dey allow "solicitation of adoption or birth certificate fraud for Facebook". Dem say dem go continue dey comot content wey go against dia policies.
Wia dis foto come from,
Getty Images
Wetin we call dis foto,
Facebook say fake papa scam go against dia policies
We follow one woman tok wey tell us sat she pay one man 9,000 to pretend say im be di papa of her pikin.
Sh say, "e senior me with 30 years. I bin hear say e don do am for anoda woman."
Di woman no too meet di man like that. Na only three times dem carry eye see each oda and one na wey dem go register office for di birth certificate.
Anoda woman tell us say she pay one man 10,000 to pretend ot be papa, only to find out say e bin lie about im immigration status.
"Na one day afta I collect di birth certificate, I find out say im no get citizenship. I wan mad necaise I don already add im details for birth certificate and I no fit change am now".
Di woman now get stranger as di registered papa of her pikin and her and her pikin still no get right to stay for UK.
Harjap Bhangal say di Home Office gatz investigate more visa applications wey get "red flag".
"If pikin claim say e be British and get British parent and di oda one wey no get visa, na perfect reason to request DNA test".
For UK dme no need DNA test wen dem dey register for birth or apply for pikin British passport.
Oga Bhangal no tink say dem dey carry plenti pip go court for dis crime.
"Na why pipo dey do am, because dem no get fear say anytin go do dem".
Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 6:35 am